Typically, all wheel drive and four wheel drive vehicles are equipped with a transfer case mounted to a multi-speed transmission for directing power from an engine to all four wheels. To accommodate different road surfaces and traction conditions, some transfer cases are equipped with a mode and range shift mechanism. As shown in FIG. 1, a user 1 typically must interface with a drive selector 2 to control the mode and range shift mechanism that couples or uncouples the part time driven wheels to the driven wheels. The user 1 therefore, must manually choose between a two wheel drive mode 3, a four wheel drive mode 4 and an all wheel drive mode 5.
In the above example, the user 1 is required to manipulate the drive selector 2 to engage or disengage powertrain components to switch between the four wheel, the all wheel drive and the two wheel drive modes. The transient nature of road and ambient conditions, however, may preclude manual manipulation of the drive selector 2. In other instances, the vehicle may be in the all wheel or the four wheel drive modes when the two wheel drive mode is more suitable. While the various systems remain useful for their intended purposes, there remains room in the art for improvement.